Surprises
by JackieLupin
Summary: Sequel to "Breathe." Happily ever for Sakura was everything and nothing like she had expected. But with her friends and Sasuke, all members of Team 7 found a peace in their adult life that had been lacking in their childhood.


The sun filtering on her face was what finally woke her up from her deep sleep. Sakura awoke slowly, throwing a careless arm over her face to hide her eyes, releasing a content sigh. When she finally opened her eye, it was merely to gaze at the one who slept so peacefully beside her.

"Sasuke," she breathed quietly, and with a soft smile, reached out and brushed the errant bangs from his face. He shifted slightly, one arm emerging from underneath the blankets to snake around her waist and pull her close, mumbling something incoherent under his breath. Sakura giggled quietly, and pressed her lips to his forehead.

"I love you, you know," she murmured, before reluctantly disentangling herself from his protective hold to get out of bed and shower. It was Saturday, so neither of them had to be up at the crack of dawn, but Naruto wanted an early sparring session that morning. Even though both boys had matured greatly since their genin and chuunin days, they hadn't lost their competitive streak, and sure enough, every morning, were running around their old training grounds.

Upon entering the bathroom, Sakura quickly shed her pajamas and turned the shower on, teeth chattering on the cold tile floor as she opened the closet and grabbed a robe to slip into while she waited for the water to warm. She glanced in the mirror, and then grinned. Her eyes were slightly bloodshot, her shoulder length hair sticking up in all directions, and a smudge of kohl most likely from her eye makeup gracing her cheek.

Hastily, seeing steam emerge from behind the glass door, Sakura folded her robe and set it on the sink before entering the shower and shutting the door firmly behind her. With a grateful sigh, she stepped into the stream of warm water and massaged her scalp with shampoo. Just as she was rinsing out her hair, the door to the bathroom opened, and there stood a sleepy Sasuke.

"M-morning," he yawned, and then bent over the sink to splash cold water on his face. Sakura opened the shower door slightly as to not let too much cold morning air in and stuck her head out to look at him. A few months ago she would have been embarrassed to show him her body, but since the shower door hid nothing anyway… She didn't mind anymore; in the past few months that they had shared their lives together, she was completely comfortable with him. Something Sasuke didn't seem to mind at all.

He had changed so much from their genin days… But he was still the same Sasuke. Always just a little melancholy, a little antisocial like their infamous sensei, a little distanced, a little condescending, but oh so genuine with his smiles and gentle touches. Sasuke's "goals" had been discarded when Orochimaru and Itachi took each other to the grave; Team Kakashi had found him, broken and bleeding, near the border of Fire Country, eager to return home, eager to merely be in their company.

Sasuke, sensing her eyes on him, turned around to meet her gaze with a small smile. "Did you sleep well?" he asked, his deep, masculine voice sending shivers down her spine, something it never failed to do.

"Yeah, I did," she replied, and with a coy smile, reached out with one hand to beckon him closer.

Sasuke's smile turned to a grin, and he leaned in to brush his lips against hers gently. But when Sakura moved to wrap her arms around his neck and pull him in closer, he mischievously moved away to lean against the sink. "You're wet," he stated with a grin.

She threw her head back and laughed, before grudgingly closing the door again. As she washed her body, she could see Sasuke's form through the shower door turn back to the sink as he brushed his teeth. Sakura smiled at the ordinary sight; she would never trade this small normalcy in their lives they had all fought so hard to achieve for anything. After all, first and foremost, they were jounins, shinobi, and had a duty to Konohakagure to uphold; days like these made it all worth it.

Sakura, finally all clean, leaned down and put the bar of soap back on the makeshift shelf. With a soft sigh, she reached to turn off the water, but before she could, Sasuke slid open the door. He grinned down at her, then pulled his shirt off over his head and stepped out of his pants. "I'm wet, remember?" Sakura teased lightly, though she leaned in for another kiss anyway.

"I don't mind," Sasuke murmured against her lips, his breath minty. He wrapped his arms around her form and pulled her close until she was flush against him. Sakura was relieved that she only slightly blushed at the contact; Sasuke always seemed calm and in control and confident in what he did.

"We have to train with Naruto soon," she protested weakly as Sasuke moved from her mouth to gently nip and lick her neck.

"So?"

So indeed.

LLLLL

"You're late!" Naruto laughed down at them from his perch in a nearby tree as Sakura and Sasuke finally reached the training grounds. He leaped down, golden hair disarrayed in the faint fall breeze flowing from the north, his cheeks slightly red, his blue eyes glowing with laughter.

"Don't look at me!" Sakura giggled, walking across the field to greet Naruto. She hugged him, gave him a hearty clap on the back, then shed her jacket and began to loosen her muscles. "It was Sasuke's fault!"

The wicked grin Sasuke sent her way made Naruto gag. "Gah, I don't want to hear about it! But seriously, you two are getting as bad as Kakashi-sensei!" He too, slung off his jacket and began a round of pushups.

"In what way, dobe?" Another grin as Sasuke bent down to stretch his calves.

"Teme! You know what I meant! Pervert!"

And thus training began. Or, rather, sparring for Naruto and Sasuke as they threw good-natured insults at each other as they proceeded to pound each other to the ground. Sakura joined in every now and then, but decided that a couple laps around the training ground would be more beneficial, seeing as the two boys were wrapped up in their game of "Best Shinobi."

"Hey!" Sakura called over their fighting, stopping after a hour of running for stamina, out of breath and holding a stitch in her side, "Isn't Kakashi supposed to be coming around soon?"

Sasuke shot her a look of disbelief over his shoulder as he hopped a few steps back to avoid a blow from Naruto. "Since when has Kakashi been on time?" he demanded, hastily wiping sweat from his face with his sleeve while Naruto stopped to do the same. Then the game was back on.

"Hey, hey, I resent that," a smooth voice called from a tree right behind Sakura, and she spun around, already knowing exactly who it was. There sat the Copy Ninja, with his trusty Icha Icha Paradise book in his gloved hand. One hand was raised to greet them, and his one visible eye was curved upward in a smile. "I have been on time before, you know."

"Yeah, when?" Naruto laughed, "I don't remember, _sensei_!"

"Well, then you must not have been very observant, Naruto," Kakashi remarked with a chortle, book-marking his page and putting the offensive little orange book back in his pocket.

The adult in question, still a boy at heart, growled at his ex-sensei, though his remark was cut off as Sasuke managed to get through his guard and hit him in the chest, knocking the wind out of Naruto and effectively throwing him to the ground. "Pay attention!" Sasuke yelled, spinning on his heel to stop his momentum and to give Naruto time to recover. "Don't let anything distract you!"

Naruto didn't take offense to that comment, like Sakura expected him to. Instead, to her surprise, and evidently Kakashi and Sasuke's, he began to laugh uproariously. "What's so funny?" she demanded, crossing her arms. Whatever it was, it was probably wasn't good.

"D'you remember, Sasuke?" the blond chuckled, "Before you and Sakura got together, the time at the field in front of the Memorial Stone, when you, me and Rock Lee were practicing?"

Sasuke, Sakura was tickled to see, blushed a dark, rosy red. But she was deathly curious to what they were talking about now. What had happened that it would affect _Sasuke_ this way, making him blush like a twelve-year-old girl in love? Belatedly, with a small smile of her own, she recalled that she had been wearing a similar expression as a twelve year old.

Sasuke shot Naruto a glare that would have even stopped the Hokage in her tracks, but the blond wasn't about to be stopped. "Well, Sakura was just walking by when I was watching you and Rock Lee-"

"Naruto, you _never_ watch," Kakashi interjected, much to Sasuke's obvious relief, "You are always in the middle of trouble."

"Yeah, well, _anyway_-"

"Go any farther, dobe, and I swear that you won't be able to stand for a week!"

"OH YEAH?! Sakura, _you_ were walking by with Hinata-"

"NARUTO!"

Sakura giggled as Sasuke leapt at Naruto and knocked him to the ground. The two wrestled for a few moments, Naruto laughing maniacally, Sasuke biting out insults. Sakura walked over to join Kakashi, and for a couple minutes, both watched the two jounin with amusement.

Kakashi turned to look at her. "Do you know what Naruto is talking about?" he asked her, and Sakura could hear curiosity in his voice.

She shook her head. "I remember the day that he's talking about, but not what Naruto is referring to. Hinata and I had just finished our training with Neji and Tenten, so we were going to go get some lunch. Naruto, Sasuke and Rock Lee were sparring, but all I remember is that Rock Lee hit Sasuke hard enough to break his arm." She suddenly giggled. "Sasuke refused to let me heal it, so Naruto dragged him off to the hospital, laughing the entire way."

"I wonder why Sasuke wouldn't let you heal it yourself."

She shrugged. "I know, he hates hospitals almost as much as you, Kakashi!"

Kakashi grinned at her behind his mask. "Maybe you distracted him? Is that what Naruto is trying to tell us?" She glanced at him; he knew, she could tell, by the way his eye was crinkled in an all-knowing smile.

Naruto, catching the end of the conversation, evaded Sasuke's clutches and shouted, "YES! He saw you walking, Sakura, and just stared at you! Rock Lee yelled 'Look out!' at him, but he didn't hear, and then BOOM, Sasuke was out!"

Sasuke rose off of the ground, trying to maintain his dignity somewhat, brushing off his robe to avoid looking at her. Sakura, taking pity on his discomfort with the situation, went over to him and kissed him on the cheek. "I think that is really sweet," she whispered to him, and he gave her a tiny smile in return.

Naruto clapped them both on the back. "I was just kidding, Sasuke," he amended, though there was a wicked twinkle in his eyes that proved otherwise. "I'm glad you two finally got together."

"Even though it happened a while ago?" Sakura grinned, and wrapped her arm around Sasuke. He tensed slightly, but then relaxed and threw his arm lazily around her shoulders.

Naruto plopped down on the grass in front of them with an overdramatic sigh, crossed his legs and then leaned back, gazing at the sky. Sakura lay down beside him, arm behind her head, and followed his gaze. They were quiet for a few long moments. The sky was a light blue, the sun gently shining down on her face. She closed her eyes and savored the feeling.

"I'm glad things turned out this way," he murmured quietly, for her ears only.

Sakura opened her eyes and turned her head to gaze at her old friend. "I know," she whispered back, and gave him an affectionate smile. "Who knew that this would happen? That we would finally find some peace?"

His blue eyes met hers, and she saw understanding and pride in their depths. Their feelings were unspoken, but then again, her and Naruto hadn't needed words. During Sasuke's absence, they had grown closer, brother and sister caught up in the desperate battle to bring their wayward friend home. And despite the suffering, the hardships, the loss of hope and then renewal, they had stuck together with Kakashi.

Sasuke sat down behind them. "Thank you," he said simply, gazing at each of them in turn. His words were so sincere that Sakura had to look away, blinking rapidly against the hot tears that abruptly burned her eyes.

Naruto grinned and gave him a playful punch. "Don't mention it, teme. Although you've already thanked us for it."

Kakashi too knelt beside them, and placed a hand on Sasuke's shoulder. "You won't get rid of us that easily," he said, "You _all_ are stuck with this old man here."

Naruto gaped at him. "You're not _that_ old, sensei!"

"I feel old when you call me sensei!" Kakashi joked back, taking out his Icha Icha book and finding his page.

They all chuckled, and spent the remainder of the morning reminiscing and reflecting with laughter in the company of old friends.

THE END:

Hope you liked it! This is my first Naruto fanfiction, so I hope it goes over well! There is a possibility of a sequel to this, most likely another one-shot, depending on how it goes! It's great to be back!


End file.
